Currently on Hand: 4.3.10

As I suspected would be the case, a few of the books I checked out from the library have been renewed, and several were returned unread. Those I have retained:

1. Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K. Hamilton (currently reading)
2. A Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

As I'm anticipating some down time in the near term, I made another overly productive trip to the library and have picked up the following:

1. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia by C.S. Lewis
2. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
3. The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
4. The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
5. 1984 by George Orwell
6. Animal Farm by George Orwell
7. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'engle
8. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
9. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
10. Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton
11. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Collectively, I've got thousands of pages to read in only a few weeks if I'm to return them without renewing them. As it would require reading over 200 pages a day, that is unlikely to happen, but, crazy as I am, I intend to do my best. Worst case is either I renew or find that I'm not able to because someone has put in a hold request for it. No matter the case, unless they go lost, I'll have access to them again at some point, right?

Admittedly, I feel a bit of a book hog, but I know all too well that if you really want something...you should put in a hold request for it. And selfishly, I like to have the variety. Besides, I live in a small-town and based on the consistently diminishing hours of our library, our population does not seem to consist of a lot of readers (sad isn't it?). I might as well make use of it. :)

Obsidian Butterfly by Laurell K. Hamilton

Finished: 4.2.10

When I bought this book at my favorite used bookstore, the owner said something about needing to prepare for some really rough ones in the series, but assured me that if I stuck it out, it would be worth it. Based on those comments, I anticipated this particular volume to be rather horrible. That was so not the case!

In this 9th volume of the Anita Blake Series, most of our main characters are primarily absent from the storyline. Considering what a large role they have played in the previous volumes, it initially comes as quite a surprise. Honestly, I worried that without her love interests present, it would get boring or I would feel less involved in the story.

Surprisingly, I was as invested as I have ever been, and though I am happy to see the return of those characters in the 10th book, it was great to spend some time with Anita without them. The one on one time helped me get a more intimate understanding of Anita's mind. More than that, it was quite a treat to get to know the mysterious Edward better.

Overall, this turned out to be my favorite in the series so far!

A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'engle

Finished: 3.29.10

Another wonderful book by Madame L'engle. As was the case with the first in this series, the story is wrought with moral lessons and ideas about what would make the world better. The particular lessons in this volume relate to hate and war, what value they serve (none), and how to overcome them (love, acceptance, belief in ourselves). Full of fantastical creatures and moving through space, body and time, it is definitely recommended and a fabulous read.

I can't wait to move on to the next in the series!

Reading List is Posted!

So, version 1 of my Reading/Book List project is now up!

At the top left-hand column, you'll see Links to Reading List Project. Underneath that heading are two links: one is the list sorted by rank (according to the various lists I pulled from to create the list) and the other is by author (sorted by author, then rank, then title). Both links are to actual Excel documents that have to be downloaded to be viewed. I use Excel 2007 so they are in .docx format.

In the list are a multitude of books. They are mostly fiction, but not all. This is primarily due to the fact that I've included all the books I own (either the real thing or in epub format on my Nook). Another reason is the first few lists I used when I began this list years ago included non-fiction works and I didn't weed them out at that time. I may in the future, but for now they will remain.

The list is a living thing and will be updated on a regular basis. When I think significant changes have been made, I'll upload the altered version and notify you in a post.

If you have any book suggestions in the meantime, please let me know so I can add them. Also, if you read something off the list and love it, please let me know!

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Finished: 3.23.10

While The Magician's Nephew was quite lovely and definitely recommended, this volume (which, consequently, was written first though it is meant to be read 2nd) was even lovelier. This could partially be due to the fact that I already knew the story (even before the movie, which is odd because I don't recall having read it before), but also because...it's just lovely. What's better than a fantastical story about a land of talking animals that include centaurs and unicorns? In my book, not much.

Definitely a high recommend. :)

The Project

I've mentioned in at least one previous post that I am working on a book project. What is this crazy project? Explanation to follow!

In previous years, I started keeping track of all the books I owned (in Excel). Then I added books I read whether I owned them or not (in Excel). Then I gave myself a reading goal to ensure I spent more time doing it (10,000 pages, which I failed the first year), and have been doing so for three years now (having succeeded in year 2 with 15,840 pages, I increased my goal this year to 17,520). During that time, I have begun adding books I'd like to read (out of general interest), and books from a few lists (Nobel Prize for Literature, etc.), and moved it all over to Access (hello, this is what a database is for!).

Recently, I decided to expand my list by combing the web for various lists of recommended reads. They didn't have to be fancy or well-known. The lists could be favorites of some random blogger that I ran across or it could be that year's New York Times bestsellers. The point was to get as many lists as possible, enter all the books, and tally by most recommended. This would then be merged with my existing list of owned, read, and to be read for a final and ginormous list of books, mostly falling under the category of to be read. Crazy right?

Initially I started with over 100 lists of 100 or more favorites from various sources and all fiction genres (I don't do non-fiction generally speaking). So far, I've made my way through a little over 30 lists and am in the final stages of combining those books with my previous list. It is a HUGE compilation of books already, and because it seemed there was no end to the project, I'm going to do it in chunks. The remaining unadded lists will be added as I feel the urge to do so. For now, I believe my compilation consists of at least 3000 entries, and that feels quite sufficient!

So, that is the book project in somewhat of a nutshell. Any questions? Think, I'm crazy? Yeah, me too.

Currently in Hand: Update

Most of the books I picked up at the library last time have been returned unread. I'm afraid the book list project has dominated a lot of my time and I'm currently in danger of getting behind on my reading goal. That said, here is what I have on hand at the moment:

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (currently reading, nearly done)
2. Obsidian Butterfly by Laurell K. Hamilton
3. Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K. Hamilton
4. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'engle
5. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

It is my goal to get through these without having to renew any of them at the library, but as they are all due by March 31st (with the exception of #2 which I own), it is looking likely that I will have to renew them to get them read (or return some of them unread, like the last batch).

At the moment, I am so obsessed with the book list project, and have made such great headway with it, that I can focus on little else. Perhaps, if it's possible to do so, I will post a download for the list when it is somewhat complete. :)

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Finished: 3.14.10

Because I delayed in writing this review, it won't be very indepth because well, my mind isn't what it used to be. :)

This was a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful read! Although the opening of the book gave some hints as to the ending (there are several things I figured out towards the end), it was still an amazing read. The writing is stellar, and I am particularly fond of the writing. There is something in older works that current works are missing and a lot of it I believe has to do with richness of language and depth of description. Rebecca has both, as well as a very interesting plot line. It is a beautifully told story and an interesting window into the nature of relationships earlier in the 20th century.

Highly recommend!!

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
Finished: 3.9.10

Many of my favorite books have been made into films and more often than not, I've either read the book long before the idea of putting it to film was even considered, or upon hearing of the intent of making a book into a movie, I read it in advance. This book has not yet been made into a major motion picture (I can't speak to whether an obscure film or t.v. movie have been made of it), but two of the books in the series have. I have seen them both and read neither. Both movies were so wonderful that it shamed me never to have read the series.

This book is the first in The Chronicles of Narnia and having finally finished it, I can see why movies were made. The first book is a magical story about a boy and a land not of our world. As I've noticed in more recent reads, there is a definite religious undertone. No, undertone intimates that it is subtle, a suggestion, but that understates it. It is clearly religious in content, but not in a manner that is stifling.

What I love most about the book is that religion and magic are allowed to exist in the same plane. Also that it is wrought with unexpected heroes, and points out that being good isn't an easy thing to do, even for those who are mostly innocent and mostly good at heart. For me, that makes the religious bit palatable, almost inviting. The story is well written, the language is rather wonderful, and the imagery quite fantastic. I'm eager to start the next in the series, to find out what the rest of the story is. And it would really be something if they made this one into a film as well.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Finished: 3/4/10

This is another book I read when I was younger and was crazy about and having read it again, I understand why. It is full of little educational tidbits presented in a way that makes learning fun, but more than that, it has some wonderful lessons about life and learning and human behavior that any person of any age could benefit from. Reading it as a mother and someone who is trying to have more children, I am convinced this book belongs in the must read category for children of all ages.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle

Finished: 2/24/10

The first time I read this, I believe I was in late elementary school or early junior high. I loved it. So much that I read the entire series. As much as I remember my fondness for it, I didn't recall the details of the story, so I picked it up once again. I'm glad I did.

I can understand now, looking back on my younger self, and understand why I would have been so attracted to this book. The main character, Meg, does really feel she belongs anywhere, but isn't quite willing to act more "normal" so that she'll belong. Ultimately, she feels very alone accept for her relationship with her youngest brother, who is quite a bit younger. They lean on each other and have an understanding of each other that no one else in their world does. Additionally, Meg's father has gone missing, not seen or heard from in years.

All of this speaks all to well of my life at around that same age. A much younger brother for which I was, and very much felt, responsible for. A father who wasn't really mine and certainly wasn't present. And a sense that I didn't fit into this world, so I made up my own. Lived in my own brain. No wonder I loved this story so much.

As an adult, I can see themes and messages I didn't back then. About parent/child relationships, about belief with no possibility of seeing, about different ways of looking at things, hope in the face of adversity, about how miserable it is to be trapped in a world where everyone is the same, that it is our differences that make life beautiful. Also, there is a religious theme I would never have noticed as a girl. One that makes me slightly reticent to delve into the remainder of the series. A bias yes, but at least I admit it.

In the end, removing my little bias, it is a wonderful, wonderful book and I would highly recommend it. It is a beautifully written story. Well worth a read. :)

The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower I by Stephen King

The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower I by Stephen King
Finished: 2/23/10

This book will not find it's way into my favorites list. It is not a long volume, yet it took entirely too many days for me to finish it. Mostly because I wasn't motivated to pick it up again. Considering it is the first in a series that King himself calls his magnum opus ("great work"), it was...disappointing.

I'm not one for books steeped in secretive symbolism, at least not when it is hardly understandable. Upon reading the Afterword by King, it became clear why the book felt so choppy. He wrote it in pieces over a period of years. It's almost as if each chapter (of which there are five very long ones) were a short story. And it reads that way. As if he had to gather himself up to write the next portion long after the previous had been written and wasn't it the same frame of mind, had to go back and re-read his own work to find where he had left off and get emotionally back to that place.

Additionally, I simply struggled with the writing. It seemed an attempt at being deep and symbolic, but felt as though it had been worked at. Good symbolism flows easily and doesn't feel so choked out, so obvious. And it seems it would make sense. In my mind, his attempts failed. Whatever symbolism he was reaching for was completely lost on me. And a book that makes me feel lost, as if there is a joke I'm simply not in on, well, that's one that is very hard for me to enjoy.

Still, I was committed to finishing it because the rest of the series is supposed to be quite wonderful and you can't not finish the beginning of a series if you want to move on. After a few days break, I picked it back up again and finished it. At the tail end of it, I found myself a little more invested than I had realized. Though I was not sad that the book was over (and that does happen when I really love a book), I was invested in finding out how the whole story ends. Or at least to reading the next in the series to see if my intrigue would continue.

What I wasn't expecting, though I suppose I should have, is the religious underpinnings that surface near the end. The book is clearly about a journey of discovery, good vs. evil Yet, I didn't expect God to play a large part. In the final pages, it becomes clear that is where the author is taking us, and though I'm generally repelled by religious undertones, I'm curious about the mystical side of the story and want to see where the series leads me. What is in that Dark Tower?

Would I recommend it? I can't really say because I don't yet know how I feel about the rest of the books. If it turns out that I love those, then it goes without saying that I would first have to recommend the beginning of the overall story. For now, I reserve my final opinion. :)

Currently in Hand

Yesterday I ran to the library and picked up 11 books. It isn't unusual for me to pick up more than I can possibly read in the allotted 3 weeks, but I do love to have some variety from which to choose. Also, most often I'm able to renew online if I really don't want to let go of something, but haven't gotten to it yet (and as a general rule of thumb, if I sense I won't read something in this round, I return it immediately, along with anything I've finished, so that others may have a chance at it! Not fair to hoarde!).

The books I selected:

1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle (currently reading, as previously mentioned)
2. IT by Stephen King
3. The Drawing of the Three: The Dark Tower II by Stephen King
4. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
5. Dune by Frank Herbert
6. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
7. The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
8. Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
9. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
10. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
11. A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'engle

Those that are bolded I have read before and am re-reading. A few of them I suspect I may have read when I was younger, but just don't recall (I suppose we'll find out once I start reading them!). Also, I think it's clear there are some themes in what I selected.

Many of these books are children's "chapter" books. Once I began dreaming of A Wrinkle in Time, I found I yearned to spend some more time in that period of my reading life. Of course, I haven't read nearly enough Stephen King and Dune is a classic sci-fi novel which I've found recently I love (or figured out finally that I had always been fond of sci-fi/fantasy and simply hadn't realized it).

Also, I have Obsidian Butterfly by Laurell K. Hamilton on hand. Recently I ran to the used bookstore to find it because it was checked out of the library and the due date was too far off for me to bear (I had just finished the one before it, Blue Moon). Once I had it in hand, I realized I wanted to wait until my hold requests for the books following it came in. Then I could have a week or two of just Anita Baker (the main character in the series) novels. So, I'm hoping to get a call from the library around March 6th stating that they've all arrived (when they're due!) and ready to be picked up. Until then, I'll be working my way through the volumes listed above, and feverishly working on compiling my updated reading list.

Progress for 2010

The books I have read thus far in 2010:

1. The Gate House by Nelson DeMille
2. Poppy Done to Death by Charlaine Harris
3. A Secret Rage by Charlaine Harris
4. Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton
5. Tempted by Kristin Cast and P.C. Cast
6. Blue Moon by Laurell K. Hamilton
7. Demon Seed (Revised) by Dean Koontz
8. The Gunslinger: Dark Tower I by Stephen King

Currently, I'm (re)reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle.

In terms of reading goals, I set them by number of pages to be read rather than by number of books. I've found if I go for a book oriented goal, I exclude longer volumes that are well worth reading. This year, my goal is to read 17,520 pages (last year I read 15,840 which was well beyond my goal of 10,000). I totaled 51 books. If I can make my goal this year, I may take on the goal of reading 100 books in 2011 (yikes!).

I select books in many different ways. To begin with, I have compiled a list of books that have won various awards (Nobel Prize for Literature, Booker, etc.) and am currently working on expanding that list to include over 100 random "favorites" lists from the internet. Though I like to select books from that list, there are also authors that I really enjoy, such as Dean Koontz, Charlaine Harris, Laurell K. Hamilton, Anne Rice, that are rarely found on such lists and I read them anyhow because I enjoy them. Once in awhile I read something that is recommended by a person or publication, and sometimes I just see a book on the shelf at the bookstore or the library, and I pick it up to read. So, there is some method to the madness, but there aren't really any rules. I love to read and I try to read as much as I can.

I'm going to try and write a quick review of books as I finish them, if nothing else to say I finished it, update the tally for the year, and say "loved it" or "pass!". If you have any questions about a book or just wish to chat about it, please do! Sometimes I don't say much about something but that doesn't mean I don't have much to say. :)

If you have any recommendations, please share!

Welcome!

Admittedly, I have a less than normal interest in books. Reading...and eventually (hopefully soon!) writing...are two things of which I am very passionate and on which I am very focused. The point of this blog is to track the progress of my reading and writing goals, share book recommendations, and perhaps write reviews of books as I go through them. My hope is that I'll be able to grow my list of books "to be read" by way of reader recommendations, and share the books that I love (and maybe get enough inspiration to start writing myself!).